Option(s) to Acquire Severable Services

Help Notes

Annual appropriations (also called fiscal year or 1-year appropriations) are made for a specified fiscal year and are available for obligation only during the fiscal year for which made. The federal government’s fiscal year begins on October 1 and ends on September 30 of the following year (31 U.S.C. 1102). All appropriations are presumed to be annual appropriations unless the appropriation act expressly provides otherwise.

Multiple-year appropriations are available for obligation for a definite period in excess of one fiscal year (37 Comp. Gen. 861, 863 [1958]). For example, if a fiscal year 2011 appropriation act includes an appropriation account that specifies that it shall remain available until September 30, 2013, it is a 2-year appropriation. As a more specific illustration, the appropriation accounts for military construction are typically 5-year appropriations. Apart from the extended period of availability, multiple year appropriations are subject to the same principles applicable to annual appropriations and do not present any special problems.